A brief me...

World peace begins within. If we can manifest peace within, we can manifest peace for ourselves and help those around us find peace. Once this is achieved, only positive change will come. I started my own journey of learning to cultivate inner peace in 2000 when I started meditating and practicing yoga in Asheville, North Carolina.  Shortly after beginning the study and practices of hatha yoga, I knew what I wanted to devote my life's work to. I had become disillusioned with the western life trajectory and was desperately seeking a more meaningful education, one that surpassed a focus on materialism. I remember vividly the moment I walked out of a yoga class in Massachusetts where I was attending university and decided that the world needed more yoga teachers, not more academics. The feeling of deep relaxation and contentment after that class was such a stark contradiction to the stress and anxiety I normally functioned under at school. Not only did I want more of that deep peaceful feeling, I wanted to understand the alchemy of yoga and how to create that magic for others. That moment changed the course of my life 15 years ago. Now, I am my own living proof that these practices can change the mind, physiology, perspective, breath, self-image and many other facets of the entire human system.

 My inward journey took me to India, Nepal and Tibet where I lived for 3 years studying the philosophies of the East in Tibetan Buddhist temples and sitting in meditation retreats under the guidance of Jaya Ashmore and Open Dharma. When I came back to the states I furthered my studies in yoga under the instruction of Elien Muir, completed my 200 CYT training with Sommer and Paul Sobin and Lil Brown, and took multiple week long seminars John Friend, Betsy Downing, Jenny Otto, Zhenja La Rosa and more. Over the past 15 years I have turned to my asana, pranayama, and meditation practices as my home base, inner teacher and personal therapist. The shifts I have witnessed in myself and in my work with my students affirm the potency of this practice. It is a true panacea for creating stability in the mind and facilitating the heart's expansion. 

   Today I co-teach a  Yoga Teacher Training at Studio 34 in West Philadelphia with my teaching partners Jessica Eagan RYT and Angie Norris RYT.  

 My love of yoga, meditation, alignment, therapeutics and anatomy led me to further studies at the Pacific Center of Awareness and Bodywork in 2009 where I became a Certified Massage Therapist and Certified Structural Integration Therapist (LMT). My education was composed of Massage Therapy, Structural Integration, Inter-personal therapy, Transpersonal therapy, and meditation; all of which I now integrate into my current bodywork practice. My primary bodywork teachers include Cris Rubini, Lee Joseph, and Hugh Milne. In the winter months, I co-teach a  Massage Therapy Certification Courses at The Pacific Center of Awareness and Bodywork in Kauai as well as offer private bodywork.

In 2012, I moved to Philadelphia to co-create The Ahimsa House, which is a center for practices of peace, sustainability and conscious living in West Philadelphia.  I currently Co-direct the Ahimsa House with Meg Ferrigno under the Umbrella Organization of The Pureland Project.  Check out our website for all the amazing classes and projects we have going on at the center. While in Philadelphia, I also give both private bodywork and yoga classes.